They’re coming for your health care. For some, that will be deadly. For others, and for the government, expensive. What can you do about it? Despite Trump’s campaign promises, the dead-of-night fast tracking, and the bluster and crowing from Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell, the fate of the ACA actually rests with a few moderate Republicans in the Senate. And what they do, if you live in one of their states, rests with you.
Who are they? There are a few senators who have already tried to put the breaks on quick repeal: Bob Corker of Tennessee, Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska introduced an amendment to that effect. A few more have voiced support for taking it slow, like Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, who says they need a “pretty darn specific” replacement option. There are also senators who have said they don’t support repeal without replacement, like Rand Paul of Kentucky, and senators who don’t support Trump in general, like Ben Sasse of Nebraska. John McCain of Arizona and Lamar Alexander of Tennessee have a history of voting outside the party lines 10-15% of the time, so add them to the call list.
The house will vote to repeal regardless, and Trump will sign it if reaches his desk, so it will all come down to the senate. We need to flip three votes to prevent any repeal from having a chance. The most realistic goal is to create a policy deadlock inside the Republican party where moves to rush a repeal get stymied by internal arguments about what to put in its place.
So, if any of these are your senators (or really, if you live in a state with a Republican senator) call them repeatedly to tell them you or your loved ones A) depend on the ACA for your healthcare and B) do not support repeal without a replacement.
Don’t call and say you’re in favor of Obamacare–say you personally need a replacement before it can be repealed. You want to be a moderate, because that means you might be a swing vote in 2018, and that means they will treat you like a constituent instead of a political opponent.
Here are their phone numbers. Call them.
Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) – District Phone: (907)-271-3735, DC Phone: (202) 224-6665
John McCain (Arizona) – District Phone: (602) 952-2410, DC Phone: (202) 224-2235
Rand Paul (Kentucky) – District Phone: (270)-782-8303, DC Phone: (202) 224-4343
Bill Cassidy (Lousiana) – District Phone: (318) 448-7176, DC Phone: (202) 224-5824
Susan Collins (Maine) – District Phone: (207) 622-8414, DC Phone: (202) 224-2523
Ben Sasse (Nebraska) – District Phone: (402)-476-1400, DC Phone: (202) 224-4224
Rob Portman (Ohio) – District Phone: (614)-469-6774, DC Phone: (202) 224-3353
Mike Rounds (South Dakota) – District Phone: (605) 224-1450, DC Phone: (202) 224-5842
Bob Corker (Tennessee) – District Phone: (901)-683-1910, DC Phone: (202) 224-3344
Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) – District Phone: (423) 752-5337, DC Phone: (202) 224-4944
Ron Johnson (Wisconsin) – District Phone: (414) 276-7282, DC Phone: (202) 224-5323
And if none of those are your senators, of the senators of any of your friends, go ahead and remind Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell that we’re watching them, and we don’t like what we see.
Mitch McConnell: (202) 224-2541
Paul Ryan: (202) 225-3031
Image Credit: Getty
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